Regime forces launched an offensive to retake Kasab in Latakia from the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front. At least 50 fighters from the Al Nusrah Front and rebels were killed in recent clashes with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham in Hasakah. Rebels reportedly killed over 20 regime soldiers in two attacks in Aleppo. The head of Lebanon’s General Security said efforts to free two kidnapped Syrian bishops are “on the right track.” Two Spanish journalists held by Islamist extremists in Raqqah for six months were freed; some 40 other Western hostages are still being held.
